The Straw That Broke The Camels Back
by supergirl3684
Summary: Takes place after John rejoins his sons.  John and Dean are busy planning thier next hunt but Sam is intent on disrupting them.  WARNING: contains parental discipline


**THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL'S BACK**

**AUTHOR:** Supergirl3684

**BETA:** Eagle Eyes

**PROMPT:** # 4 Disruptions

**RATING:** PG – 13

**TYPE OF STORY:** General

**PROLOGUE:**

Dean couldn't stop grinning at his father while Sam couldn't stop glaring at him. It had been almost a year since John had seemed to vanish into thin air. Time spent traveling the US wondering if he was ok…now…he was there, in front of them…and ready to take charge.

"We work together…things are done my way. Do you understand?" John asked sternly, gaining eye contact with both his boys.

"Yes, sir," Dean replied for both himself and Sam; something he'd been doing since before Sam could talk.

John didn't even look in Sam's direction as he began giving orders to Dean who delegated some of them to Sam. Sam looked at his father annoyed. It was a routine that had bothered him since he was ten but one he realized he was going to have to get used to again.

For as long as he could remember John would talk mostly to Dean, who would in exchange, talk with Sam. Sam hated it then and even more now. Not that he minded that John ignored him, when he was in trouble he wished for it, but he disliked the fact that Dean would treat him like a child, when he was an adult.

Neither older hunter saw the look of pure evilness on Sam's face. 'If that's how they want to act…' Sam thought wryly.

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John Winchester and his oldest son Dean sat at the table planning their next hunt. Dean couldn't help but look at his dad and smile. When his dad had disappeared earlier that year, Dean had been scared…not that he'd ever admit it.

John had disappeared, telling himself he was protecting his sons. He never counted on his sons' persistence to keep looking for him. They found him once …but he told them they had to leave. Dean had followed his orders, as he always did, and Sam had fought him, as he always did.

Now the three Winchester men were back together. John and Dean were thrilled to be working with each other once again. Sam was another story. The past few days had been hard on all of them…John in particular. Sam seemed to be testing him at every turn…and today was no different.

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"I don't know dad, I think we should take I-90…" Dean started.

"I-10 will be faster though. Besides if we use ten we can always stop at Bobby's." John informed his son.

Dean smiled; he and Bobby had always gotten along. "Yeah, I'd like to see him. Ok, so if we…"

_**TAP, TAP, TAP**_

John couldn't stop himself from jumping at the sudden noise that filled the room. Dean had been paying attention to his brother's action and knew what was coming. John sighed annoyed as Dean signaled for his kid brother to stop making noise. John didn't even look at his youngest.

"You were saying?" John asked his son.

"If we take I-10 how are we going to hit 30?" Dean asked his father.

"You know the roads as well as I do. You tell me," John said.

_**TAP, TAP, TAP**_

It was Dean's turn to jump and John's turn to glare. "What the hell is he doing?" John asked.

"He's listening to music." Dean answered angrily.

John looked back and noticed that his youngest was indeed listening to a CD player. His hands were keeping beat to the music; unfortunately they were hitting the table that was in front of him.

John stood and walked to his youngest. He laid his hands on Sam's and raised an eyebrow. Sam blushed as he quickly understood John's meaning. He looked down in apology and John released his hands. John went back to the table where Dean was impatiently waiting.

Dean studied the map; true he knew the roads as well as his father but he was used to following, not leading when the man was in charge. "Um…ten to 65…no…" Dean stumbled. "Ok, we'll take 10 to county road 15, from there we'll hit Hero Township, and from there we'll hit Bobby's. From Bobby's we'll grab I-75 which will take us to 242 which turns to 30." The oldest Winchester son looked up at the older hunter for confirmation.

John smiled at his oldest son and nodded, "Sounds good to me. I'll map it out while you start researching; see if you can't find anything out about the disappearing people."

"Yes, sir," Dean replied.

_**TAP, TAP, TAP**_

This time both John and Dean jumped only slightly. Dean didn't wait for his father to take action. He jumped out of his seat and grabbed the CD player from Sam.

"Hey," Sam protested.

"Unless you're gonna help, shut it off geek boy. We don't need any more disruptions then necessary." Dean said.

With a glare at his older brother, Sam lay on the bed and turned on the television. Father and sons sat in relative silence. The only sounds were those from the television and from Dean's making the occasional phone call. The silence only lasted about an hour.

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"Dean, do you have any gum?" Sam asked suddenly.

Dean shook his head as he pointed to the phone currently 'attached' to his ear. Sam frowned and turned back to the television. 'If that's the game he wants to play,' Sam thought, tired of being treated like a child.

"Dad, do you have any gum?' Sam asked of the oldest hunter.

"No Sam," John answered.

Sam sighed and waited for a couple of minutes to pass. "Do either have you have any candy?"

"No," John and Dean answered together. They stared at each other and smiled.

"Dad, do you have a book about…" Sam started.

"No Sam I don't have a book." John answered getting annoyed.

Sam hid a smile, "What about a pack of cards?"

"They're in my bag Samuel," John answered testily.

Sam played a few games of solitaire before deciding he was bored. He started to shuffle the deck non stop until finally Dean looked up at him.

"Stop it Sammy; I'm on the phone." Dean glared.

Sam had to look away from his brother, unable to keep the smile off his face. Dean was deep in discussion when Sam interrupted him again.

"Hey Dean, lets play poker!" Sam all but yelled.

Dean glared at Sam and then gestured to his father for help. John sighed but nodded before turning to his youngest.

"You're old enough to know better Sam! If you can't control yourself, we're gonna have problems; got me?" John asked.

"What ever," Sam muttered as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

John leaned back in his chair. "I'm losing my patience with that boy." John stated after Dean had gotten off the phone.

"Why don't you do to him, what you would have done to me if I'd acted that way?" Dean asked.

"He'll hate me," John answered.

"No offense sir, but he already acts like he hates you. What would change?" Dean gave his father a questioning look. "Besides, he doesn't hate you; he's pissed at you."

Dean got up and went into the kitchen that the hotel room had come with.

"What are you doing?" John called out.

"Making supper," Dean yelled back. "Sam's gonna be hungry when he gets back."

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An hour later Sam walked back into the hotel room and refused to look either older man in the eye. Dean raised an amused eyebrow at his dad as if to say, 'what did I tell you'? John just shook his head and smiled.

Dean set a bowl of chili in front of his younger brother who smiled up at him. The smile got bigger when Dean produced a peanut butter sandwich, crackers, and a root beer. The smile faltered briefly when he heard John chuckle.

Dean gave a faint shake of the head, his way of telling Sam to forget about what he heard. It was a common supper scene for the Winchester men and had been since the boys were little kids. In that moment Sam didn't mind being the baby brother.

After supper was eaten Dean quickly cleaned up and sent Sam back to watch television. When Dean was sure Sam wasn't looking he took the candy he'd seen Sam hide in the kitchen drawer out and re-hid it else where.

Dean rolled his eyes; he had been able to tell from the very beginning that part of Sam's problem was that he was on a sugar high; his tantrum before supper was the sugar leaving his system. When all was done in the small kitchen, he went back to work on his research.

Dean and John worked steadily for two hours and would have kept working if it hadn't been for Sam. Dean had just started to make another phone call when…

**BANG** "OW!" **THUD** "CRAP!" **BOOM** "DAMN IT!"

John and Dean ran into the kitchen. They found Sam standing with pots all around him.

"What the hell is going on?" John demanded.

Sam looked up at his father sheepishly, "I was just looking for something."

"Damn it Samuel, you're brother and I are busy; we don't need any more disruptions from you young man!" John yelled.

Dean shook his head at his brother and went back to the table to continue working; he wanted to let his father and brother have some privacy to work their problems out.

It didn't take long before John strolled out of the kitchen dragging a reluctant Sam. Sam looked at his big brother for help but Dean shook his head and left the room; calling over his shoulder that he forgot something in the impala.

Inside the room Sam and John were still going at it.

"You've been acting like a child all day Sam and I'm tired of it!" John yelled.

"You mean you actually noticed me?" Sam asked sarcastically.

John's mouth fell slightly open. 'Was he testing me?' John asked himself. Looking at his youngest son John could have smacked himself on the forhead; the answer was clearly yes.

"I noticed you Sammy." John answered with a smile.

Sam tried to back away from John but John had suddenly gripped his upper arm. Sam struggled to get away but it was no use.

"D-dad, come on…I-I'm too old…" Sam pleaded.

"You're never too old Sammy boy, never too old." John replied.

Sam shuddered as John sat down and pulled him closer. "The jeans are coming down son; whether it's you or me who brings them down doesn't matter. Let me say though, if I do it, it's only going to be worse." John warned.

Sam blushed as he unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to his knees. John didn't hesitate for even a second as he pulled his youngest over his lap and started swatting the boxer clad backside.

**SWAT, SWAT, SWAT** "You are old enough," **SWAT, SWAT** "to know better." **SWAT, SWAT** "You had better," **SWAT, SWAT** "start to behave yourself," **SWAT, SWAT** "or else you are going to have," **SWAT, SWAT** "a _very_ hard time," **SWAT, SWAT** "sitting down." **SWAT, SWAT** "Do you understand?" **SWAT, SWAT, SWAT**

"Y-yes, sir," Sam cried. "Please dad, stop." John said nothing as he continued to spank his baby boy. "I'm sorry!" Sam cried.

John looked down at his youngest and took a deep breath. "All right Sam, we're almost done."

Sam stilled at his father's words; he knew what they meant. "No dad, please don't," Sam begged.

John said nothing as he pulled Sam's boxers down to join his jeans. He bit his lip when he saw the red backside. He wanted to stop and hold his son close but knew that duty called and as a father he couldn't stop now. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable he began to swat the now unprotected backside.

**SWAT, SWAT, SWAT** "I'm sorry!" **SWAT, SWAT** "OW!" **SWAT, SWAT** "No more dad!" **SWAT, SWAT** "OW! Please!" **SWAT, SWAT, SWAT**

Sam lay limp over his father's knees and cried. John rubbed circles on the boys back and waited till Sam had calmed down a little before helping him stand and straighten his clothes.

John pulled Sam onto his lap, opening his legs so the Sam's backside wouldn't touch anything. "It's ok baby; I've got you…I have you Sammy." Sam hugged his father around the neck and cried a little more.

"I'm s-sorry d-dad. I d-didn't mean to b-be so much t-trouble." Sam cried.

"It's ok son; you're not any trouble. It's ok Sammy; I'm here for you." John said gently. Even after Sam had finished crying he stayed on his father's lap content to be held; John let him stay content to hold his youngest for the first time in years.

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Dean entered the hotel room almost an hour later; it had long since gotten dark. Sam was in the kitchen picking up the pots and pans he'd dropped earlier. John was sitting at the table, his notes in front of him.

"What was he doing in the kitchen?" John asked of his eldest. It was a question he'd wanted an answer to but hadn't gotten a chance to ask of his youngest. He noticed the way Sam tensed but Dean showed no sign of emotion.

"I'm not entirely sure, sir." Dean answered a calm look on his face.

"You'll deal with it?" John asked.

"Yes, sir," Dean replied.

"I'll be right back," John informed his sons.

Dean nodded and Sam smiled at him in reply. When John was out of the room Dean went to his bag and grabbed the candy.

"Were you looking for this," he asked his baby brother.

Sam looked down at his feet until he heard Dean's shoes on the kitchen floor. He quickly backed up.

"I'm sorry Dean; honest, I won't do it again." Sam's eyes held tears. He gave his big brother his best puppy dog eyes; Dean buckled.

"Since I know dad took care of you, you're getting off. I'll let it go this one time Sam; if you do it again, I won't care if dad's in the middle of spanking you. Do you understand?" Dean asked sternly.

"Yes, Dean," Sam wisely answered.

"Good; go shower and get in bed then," Dean replied.

Sam wanted to argue that it was only ten but his backside gave a throb and, instead, he did as he was told. Dean shook his head as Sam entered the bathroom, a slight pout on his lips. It took Sam only fifteen minutes to get in and out of the bathroom and into bed.

As Sam drifted off to sleep he could hear Dean humming softly at the table. He smiled to himself and finally allowed sleep to claim him.

**EPILOGUE:**

John entered the hotel room an hour after he'd left to go hustle some pool. He saw Dean's notes still scattered around and was about to yell to his oldest to clean up his mess when he noticed the silence of the room. Quickly walking further in he sighed with relief; there on one of the beds were both his sons.

Dean was lying on his back; ankles crossed and head slightly on the headboard. Sam lay in the crook of his arm. It was obvious from their positions that Sam had, had a nightmare. John smiled again as he got ready for bed and slipped into the second bed knowing that even if he woke, his oldest wouldn't be leaving Sam's side.

John drifted off into a dreamless sleep; his last image being of his sons…his boys…his world. He knew Dean didn't doubt his love and now he knew that neither did Sam.

**THE END**


End file.
